One of the first things that comes to mind when you hear ‘Switzerland’, it is most likely the mountains. Huge Alpine silhouettes accompany you almost always (except in the case of foggy weather), you get used to the form of their summits and greet them like old friends. And, as time goes by, just watching the mountains from below is not enough. You want to get to the top. Or down there, preferably on skis.
A really fun way of going up is climbing and as I had the opportunity to get a climbing introduction, I didn’t hesitate at all and a few days later three absolute beginners met with an experienced guide in an indoor rock climbing hall near Lucerne. This article is not meant to give you an introduction that you can follow to really learn climbing and rather to get you interested and look for someone who knows what he or she is doing to teach you the basics.
How to start / basic equipment
As said, as a first thing, you need someone with experience. Rock climbing is quite save if you do it right but first you have to know how to do it. In addition, you need a climbing harness, long comfortable trousers and climbing shoes, which are called Finken in Swiss German. Normally the gear can be rented at the halls and ropes are provided for the easier routes as well.
To the wall
Once you managed to get on your harness correctly, you can start boarding the wall. Your harness is connected to the rope, which, via a linkage at the top, can be tracked back into the caring hands of your climbing partner. She/he is responsible for securing you when you fall and for getting you back down to earth once you made it to the top. So make sure it’s a reliable person.
The indoor rock climbing halls provide different routes with varying difficulties. The routes are colour-marked and you should try to use only the grips in your colour of the route. I picked the yellow route, as you can see in the pic below. And then, off you go.
There are a lot of cleverly contrived tricks to ‘do the wall’. Keep your body to the wall, work mostly with your legs, cleverly shift your weight and sometimes you just have to be brave. It’s fun trying out if the different technique you have in mind actually works. If you fall, you are secured and you might even get back to the wall and try it again. Or call to your partner to give you a break and sit down in the harness to relax.
And then, you are there. The top of the route! The roof! Unfortunately, it’s not very comfortable up there and there is no way to sit down, have a coffee and enjoy the view.
Rather, sit down in the climbing harness, get your legs straight and you will be ‘abseiled’ – some people pay money just for that.
Don’t know about you and your level of fitness, I definitely had quite sore arm muscles the day after and I definitely should work on my pull-ups. Next time, you’ll get to know how it is to climb outdoors, you know, on real rocks and stuff. See you next time. And if you’re from around and interested in a climbing partner (albeit a not very experienced one), just let me know!
Spa and Travel 